Chapter 25

The three returned to the righteous manor in low spirits. Xu Rongyu collapsed on the ground, and only Lin Heier and Wu Pifu briefly explained what happened outside.

More than a hundred horse bandits were almost wiped out, and the leader of the Yanshan horse bandits, Xu Zhenshan, was also dead or alive... No, looking at this situation, Xu Zhenshan was probably dead for sure... No, it was certain he would turn into a paper effigy.

"... Mr. Xu Zhenshan has dominated Xuanhua Prefecture and outside the pass for more than twenty years and is a famous master-level figure in the north. I didn't expect him to fall here." Lin Heier said sadly.

Wu Pifu didn't know how to comfort Xu Rongyu. He thought for a moment and said, "Xu Rongyu, grieve. You can still take over your father's mantle. I heard you say before that your father had thousands of bandits under his command. Only a hundred or so died here. Your father should have trusted aides or something, right? After returning this time, you can completely continue the promising job of being a mountain bandit and horse bandit."

Lin Heier looked at Wu Pifu in surprise. Xu Rongyu, who was crying, had his mouth twitching constantly. Even Amida and Xu Shilan felt their faces turn red.

Amida said directly, "Wu, if you don't know how to comfort people, don't speak."

Xu Shilan also said, "In this era, those who can come on horseback and have firearms and weapons must be Xu Zhenshan's core aides. Saying it's a team of thousands, the core aides might be at most dozens. I was very surprised when you said there were hundreds. This proves that Xu Zhenshan had strong control over his team. But once these cores are lost, I'm afraid that once Xu Rongyu returns, he will die without a burial place."

Wu Pifu was stunned for a moment, and then said to Xu Rongyu in shock, "No, you are horse bandits, not a royal court. You also engage in infighting?"

Everyone looked at Wu Pifu speechlessly. They discovered for the first time that Wu Pifu actually had such a time when he had absolutely no common sense.

In fact, this was also because Wu Pifu had read too many unreliable novels—something like five hundred thousand iron cavalry on the frontier, and then the emperor sent a decree, and they immediately knelt down to hand over power, and then they were framed and died, and so on...

Lin Heier said to Xu Rongyu, "Brother Xu, if you don't mind, follow me back to Tianjin after this battle. Whether it's the Boxer Rebellion or the Red Lantern Society, we are all good friends, and there will naturally be a place for Brother Xu."

Xu Rongyu buried his head in pain, still saying nothing.

Wu Pifu said at this time, "Let's survive this first... I won't say anything unlucky, let's talk about something realistic. Those paper effigies have become stronger."

Everyone fell silent.

Undoubtedly, those paper effigies had really become stronger and started to possess some supernatural powers. It could be seen from the ghost-beating-wall they ran into when they ran out. They actually ran for seven or eight minutes in a short distance. The key was that except for Wu Pifu, the others didn't even notice it. This was very terrifying. Perhaps if they fell into that situation, they would be no different from the horse bandits.

Being devoured or transformed by paper effigies, and they didn't even know it.

Lin Heier raised this doubt on the spot. She thought about it again and refuted it herself: "This possibility should not exist, because the Master's Yin-Yang Eyes, or the Wisdom Eyes, allow us to see the paper effigies. Whether you see it or not, whether you notice it for the first time or not, is very important. In Buddhism, this is called awakening, which is also heart-realization. The reason why the old senior Xu fell into the trap is probably because he didn't notice all this. Otherwise, with the ability of the old senior Xu as a master, it would be no problem to escape."

Xu Shilan shook her head and said, "But from your description, it can be seen that the paper effigies are becoming stronger, and the speed of becoming stronger is not slow. This is absolutely certain. Now they have killed more than a hundred people, some of whom have turned into new paper, and the old paper effigies have devoured wandering ghosts and devoured these living people. How strong will they become?"

Amida added from the side, "Don't forget, there is also that Xu Zhenshan who has turned into a paper effigy. He is a master in your words. What abilities he has after turning into a paper effigy and how strong he is is still unknown."

This was also one of the key points that Wu Pifu and Lin Heier were worried about.

They were both An Jin martial artists and naturally knew how big the gap between An Jin and ordinary people was. It could be said that it was an overwhelming gap. And the paper effigies turned from ordinary people made them afraid to touch them at will, so what about the paper effigies turned from An Jin martial artists?

Xu Shilan continued at this time, "And there is another strange place. Don't you think it's too quiet these few days?"

Everyone looked at her. Xu Shilan spread her hands and said, "A dozen paper effigies besieged us. Even if they are afraid of fire, you have seen how slowly they burn. And what about us? Except for you two, Wu Pifu and Lin Heier, or plus Amida, who can be considered to have combat power, only three out of five people have combat power. Under the siege of a dozen paper effigies, we can only run to the back mountain. So why did these paper effigies run away at first, and why haven't they entered the righteous manor these few days?"

Wu Pifu said immediately, "You mean... those wandering ghosts?"

Xu Shilan nodded and said, "What the magic conch said might not be misleading, nor was it deliberately trying to frame us, but that staying away from living people and getting close to dead people can really allow us to resist these paper effigies. These paper effigies are not only the enemies of the living, but also the enemies of the dead. It's a pity that our reaction was too slow. Now most of the wandering ghosts have been devoured, and we also lack effective means to communicate with those wandering ghosts, so until now, only we are left fighting alone."

Another weight was added to everyone's hearts. Wu Pifu stood up and walked toward the side hall.

Everyone looked at him. Lin Heier also followed Wu Pifu toward the side hall. Amida asked, "What are you doing?"

Wu Pifu said without looking back, "The opportunity of wandering ghosts has been missed by us, and now the paper effigies have become stronger again. It is estimated that the total siege will be these two days. Even if it is sharpening the gun before the battle, I want to practice the Sitting Lotus Jin as soon as possible. Otherwise, we won't even have the strength to fight."

Xu Rongyu had already raised his head and sat up at this time. After hearing this, he said in a panic, "We can run to the back mountain. Didn't Brother Wu and I already explore the road?"

Wu Pifu turned his head slightly and shook his head helplessly: "That was before. Those paper effigies moved slowly, like ordinary people walking. We could hide and run. You didn't see it today; those paper effigies can already float. The speed is slightly faster than ordinary people running. If we really run to the back mountain, Lin Heier and I might be able to last longer, but what about you? You won't be able to run three miles, and you will all die there, and then it will be my turn."

After speaking, Wu Pifu went to the side hall without looking back, and Lin Heier followed him without saying a word, then carefully observed the posture he set up and carefully pointed out his shortcomings.

That night, the others only slept a little and woke up from time to time.

And Wu Pifu and Lin Heier didn't sleep all night, always thinking of ways to successfully comprehend this Sitting Lotus Jin.

The more Wu Pifu studied, the more he felt that this Sitting Lotus Jin was wonderful.

In his complete set of Tiger Demon Art, there was a vague description of Dan Jin.

That was after reaching Hua Jin, the whole body was practiced to be transparent, the so-called "a feather cannot be added, a fly cannot land," the achievement of concentrating power to the square inch of the skin surface.

The way of external Guoshu actually reached its end at Hua Jin, and to go further, one can only seek from within, and this is Dan Jin.

Moving one's own Qi and blood to a certain acupuncture point in the dantian to form the so-called "Jin Dan," or Dan Jin, is actually, in essence, the achievement of a Guoshu martial artist completely controlling the direction and operation of their own Qi and blood. Once Dan Jin is reached, the control of one's own Qi and blood reaches an incredible realm, from which many changes are produced, such as the re-growth of the physical body, the washing, purification, and repair of the body, etc.

At the same time, Dan Jin martial artists can erupt with more than ten times the explosive power of a Hua Jin grandmaster in an instant, and they can control this huge power with subtlety, showing many powers that seem like supernatural powers, such as gripping iron into mud, blowing cups into powder, etc.

The current Wu Pifu is naturally impossible to achieve Dan Jin. Even if he wants to force the condensation of Qi to cross-sit, he will definitely have Qi and blood flowing backward, directly sitting himself to death in the process of condensing the pill. He hasn't even found the acupuncture point to condense the Jin Dan.

But this Sitting Lotus Jin takes a different path. It is not to let you really condense a pill, but to virtualize a pill-condensing acupuncture point in the dantian, simulate a fake pill in a short time, and then erupt quickly, using about 10% to 20% of the real Dan Jin's power and control to consume this condensed Dan Jin Qi and blood.

In this way, although it causes great damage to oneself, it will not damage the foundation. It can be repaired by slowly warming it over time. And the Qi and blood condensed at the fake pill erupting will not cause Qi and blood exhaustion and reversal. At the same time, it can also borrow the fake to cultivate the real, and ponder the cultivation of Dan Jin. Even for the achievement of Hua Jin, it has great benefits.

The night passed without incident. Early the next morning, Xu Shilan started to make breakfast. She made all the remaining ingredients into food and piled them on a full table. Everyone had no interest in talking, just sitting around the table eating big mouthfuls.

After the meal, Xu Rongyu boosted his spirit and started to help Amida make the launcher. Xu Shilan silently checked the oil, made torches, and placed them in suitable positions. At the same time, she patrolled the ignition nodes of the entire righteous manor again and again.

Everyone knew that the decisive battle was coming. Even Wu Pifu, Amida, and Xu Shilan didn't have the idea of dragging it out for five days.

The paper effigies couldn't let them live for five days. Either solve the root cause of the paper effigies and everyone live together, or everyone die together in the subsequent siege of paper effigies. There is no third possibility!

Morning, noon, dusk—the expected siege of paper effigies did not happen, but everyone's hearts became heavier and heavier. Until the sun set and the last ray of sunlight disappeared, crying, howling, and shouting sounds rose from around the righteous manor.

"Head Senior Sister, where are you?"

"Head Senior Sister, we have all ascended to bliss and gone to the Vacuum Hometown. Why didn't you follow us?"

"Rongyu, father has finally attained the Dao. Come out quickly and follow me to the Heavenly Realm."

"It hurts so much, don't kill me..."

"My money is all here, let my wife and children go..."

"It hurts, it hurts, it hurts..."

A faint mist filled the righteous manor, and from that mist, vague figures appeared.

They were not paper effigies, but humanoid creatures with dull expressions, their facial features outlined by black lines. They revealed the same dull smiles, pushing the uncanny valley effect to the limit.

Ten, a hundred, a thousand...

Thousands of humanoids emerged from the mist, all walking stiffly toward the righteous manor!

(End of chapter)